Crowning head



March 14, 1967 w- J, R, NEKOLA 3,308,604

CROWN ING HEAD Filed March 10, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet l ,INVENTOR l Win/HM.17E/Kama? ATTORNEYS W. J. R. NEKOLA CROWNING HEAD March 14, 1967 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March l0, 1965 TTORNEY March 14, 1967 W- J. R,NEKQLA 3,308,604

CROWN ING HEAD Filed March lO, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Q fz )g w y Q IMarch 14, 1967 w..1. R. NEKOLA 3,308,604

CROWNING HEAD Filed March lO, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent3,308,604 CROWNIN G HEAD William J. R. Nekola, Towson, Md., assignor toCrown Cork & Seal Company, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of NewYork Filed Mar. 10, 1965, Ser. No. 438,591 Claims. (Cl. 53-343) Thepresent invention relates to a crowning mechanism and more particularlyto an improved crowning head for applying caps, such as crown type capsor roll-on type caps,

to the mouth or lip of either bottles or crowns.

A typical crowning mechanis-m is disclosed in United States Patent No.2,184,493, Wiltie I. Gladfelter, issued Dec. 26, 1939, and assigned tothe same assignee as the present application. In the aforementionedGladfelter patent, the crowning mechanism includes a plurality ofvertically reciprocable cylinders, each having a crowning die includinga throat ring for crimping or ironing the skirt of a crown type capabout the bead on the mouth or lip of the container and a magneticpresser foot for initially receiving and supporting the cap and thenapplying the cap to the mouth with suiiicient crowning pressure. Whilesuch a crowning mechanism has been quite successful in applyingconventional steel crowns to ibottles and cans, certain difficultieshave been encountered in recent years with the use of these crowningheads because of the increased speed necessary for operation of thecrowning mechanism to accommodate for the increased speed of operationof the iilling machines. Also didiculties have been encountered withthese crowning heads when using the new type caps provided with a pulltab therein. Because of the increased speed at which crowning mechanismsmust operate to accommodate the output of present day filling machines,the caps must be accurately aligned or centered with respect to thebottle to enable proper crowning procedures, and mechanisms such asshown in the Gladfelter patent did not maintain suihciently accuratecontrol over the cap and the container throughout the crowning operationwhen accomplished at high speeds. Further, the use of such p-riorcrowning mechanisms on caps provided with pull tabs often caused theweakened score lines on the cap to tear during the crowning operationthus damaging the closure. Damage often occurred in the area where a capskirt depends from the top portion of caps even without the pull tabs,especially when the cap was made with an aluminum outer shell.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an improvedcrowning mechanism for applying caps to Ibottles or cans, the cappinghead of the mechanism maintaining accurate control over the cap from thetime of reception of the same throughout the entire crowning operationso that the cap may be positively centralized with respect to the mouthof the container while being placed on the mouth and so that the cap canbe crowned on the container without damage to the cap.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedcrowning head for use with high speed crowning mechanisms, the crowninghead having means thereon which permits supporting the capfree of thepresser foot until after the cap has made initial contact with the mouthof the container, the presser foot then engaging the cap and furtherassisting in the centralization 3,308,604 Patented Mar. 14, 1967 of thecap on the mouth as crowning pressure is applied thereto.

Ancillary to the immediately preceding object, it is a further object ofthe present invention to provide an improved type of presser foot for acrowning head which not only assists in centralizing the cap withrespect to the mouth of the bottle but so supports the cap during theironing of the skirt about the .bead of the mouth that the top portionof the cap and the upper portion of the annular skirt of the same arecompletely backed up to prevent any damage thereto.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedtype of crowning head having a permanent magnet therein which isshielded from the other elements of the crowning head so that themagnetic uX can be concentrated in a particular area and maintaineduniform, the longevity of the magnet also being increased.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a crowning headwith a container guide element supported therefrom and movable withrespect thereto, the container guide element also functioning as anauxiliary cap platform for supporting the cap should the cap becomeinadvertently dislodged from the magnetic means normally supporting thesame prior to application on a container.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide animproved crowning hea-d for use with caps having a pull tab formedtherein by an incision which is at least partially semi-circular and byweakened score portions extending from the ends of the incision, thecrowning mechanism having a presser foot which prevents tearing of thescore lines of the tab during crowning.

Ancillary to the immediately preceding object, it is a further object toprovide a crowning mechanism for use on such caps which has meanstherein for permitting the -pull tab to raise slightly out of the planeof the top portion of the cap when the depending skirt of the cap isfbeing ironed about the bead of the mouth or lip of the container.

These and other objects and advantages of the crowning head of thepresent invention will appear more fully in the following specification,claims and drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 schematically discloses an exploded view of the crowning headof the present invention in combination with the crowning mechanismwhich is shown in broken lines.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the crowninghead of the present invention and through a portion of the crowningmechanism, the view illustrating the first stage of operation, namely,the normal positioning of the various ele-ments of the crowning headjust prior to and after reception of a cap.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the crowninghead of the present invention, the view illustrating the relative normalpositions of the various elements of the crowning head as shown in FIG-URE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view similar to FIG- URE 2 butillustrating the second stage of the crowning operation of the crowninghead wherein initial contact of the cap is made with the mouth of thecontainer.

FIGURE 5 is a vertical sectional view of the crowning head similar toFIGURES 2 and 4 but illustrating the third stage of the operation,namely, the engagement of the presser foot with the crown and theapplying crowning pressure thereby vertically to the cap and container.

FIGURE 6 is a vertical sectional view similar to FIG- URE 5 butillustrating the fourth or final stage of crowning wherein the skirt ofthe cap is ironed about the bead of the mouth or lip of the container.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view of FIG- URE 6 betterillustrating the nal crowning stage and disclosing in detail the tab onthe cap moving out of the plane of the top portion of the cap due to theironing of the skirt about the bead of the mouth or lip of thecontrainer.

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the crowning head lookingup into the crowning throat ring, presser foot, and plunger.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like character or referencenumerals represent like or similar parts and in particular to FIGURE 1,there is disclosed a typical crowning mechanism generally designated bythe numeral 10 incorporating a plurality of crowning heads generallydesignated by the numeral 12. The crowning mechanism 10 is of thegeneral Vtype as disclosed in the hereinbefore mentioned GladfelterPatent No. 2,184,493, it being understood .that the improvement hereindescribed relates primarily to the crowning head. The crowning mechanism1t) includes a cylindrical or drum-shaped body po-rtion 14 rotatablymounted on a stationary post 16 by suitable bearing (not shown). A wormgear 18 xedly supported on body portion 14 and meshing with a drive gear(not shown) driven off of a suitable source of power, such as a llingmachine drive, rotates the drum-shaped body portion 14 about the post16. The plurality of crowning heads 1.2 are individually verticallyreciprocable with respect to the body portion 14, each of the crowningheads being reciprocated by means of a cam 20 mounted on the stationarypost 16 within the body portion 14.

As the body portion 14 rotates 4the crowning heads past a cap receivingstation 22, caps supplied by a chute 23 from a suitable cap hopper (notshown) are individually fed into each crowning head. As the crowninghead 12 receives a cap, a container such as a bottle or can, ispositioned beneath the crowning head on a container platform mounted ona rotating table (not shown). The individual crowning head 12 is loweredby the cam 10 and the cap carried therein is positioned on the mouth ofthe container positioned therebeneath and the crowning operation begins.When the crowning operation has been completed, the cam 20 elevates thecrowning head 12 away from the crowned or closed container and thecontainer is then discharged from its platform and the procedure isrepeated.

The details of the crowning mechanism and of the means for supportingthe containers beneath the crowning heads are not given herein as theyare fully disclosed in the aforementioned United States Patent No.2,184, 493. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatarrangements of crowning mechanisms other than that disclosed in theaforementioned patent could be used so long as the crowning head ismoved relative to the container. For example, the container could belifted up to the crowning head by vertically reciprocable containersupporting platforms rather than the crowning head being lowered down tothe container.

Referring now to FIGURES l and 2, it will be noted that the crowninghead 12 includes an elongated cylinder 24 open at its lower end andprovided at its upper end with a cover 26. Suitably mounted adjacent theupper end of elongated cylinder 24 is a cam roller or follower 28 whichcooperates with the track of the previously mentioned cam 20. Theelongated cylinder 24 is interiorly threaded at 30adjacent its lower endfor receiving an exteriorly threaded sleeve nut 32 which is arranged tosupport the various elements of the crowning head 12 therein. In moredetail, an elongated tubular sleeve member 34 extends upwardly withinthe cylinder 24 and terminates adjacent the upper end of the same. Thetubular sleeve element 34 is provided with an annular ange 26 thereondefining a irst or downward facing shoulder 38 and a second or upwardlyfacing shoulder 46. The downwardly facing shoulder 38 is arranged toabut against and be supported by the inner end of the sleeve nut 32thereby limiting the downward movement of the sleeve element 34 relativeto cylinder 24 while permitting upward movement relative thereto.V Theupwardly facing shoulder 4t) provides a stop for the lower end of arelatively strong spring 42, the upper end of the spring operativelyabutting against the cover 26 of the cylinder 24. As is now apparent,sleeve element 34 is normally urged downwardly by spring 42 to aposition where the shoulder 38 engages the end of the sleeve nut 32.

Tubular sleeve element 34 at its lower end is provided with an enlargedannular flange 44 which has an enlarged chamber 46 therein concentricwith the bore through the sleeve element. The upper portion of acrowning throat ring 48 is received and supported within the chamberwhile the lower portion extends out of the sleeve. Suitable set screws50 extending through the flange 44 support the throat ring 48 xedlywithin the chamber 46 of the sleeve element 34. Sleeve element 34 isprovided with interior threads 5|) in its bore above chamber 46 forreceiving an exteriorly threaded sleeve nut 52 which retains anelongated presser foot 54 in the crowning cylinder. Since the upper endof the sleeve element 34 is open, a presser foot stop rod 55 fixedlysupported on the cover 26 of cylinder 24 extends centrally down throughthe sleeve element and terminates above the upper end of presser foot 54when the presser foot is in its normal position. The purpose of rod 55and its coaction with the presser foot 54 will be described later in thespecification.

Presser foot 54 which is centered by the sleeve nut 52 for reciprocationrelative to the throat ring is provided on its end extending out of theupper end of the sleeve nut with a shoulder S6 that abuts against theupper end of the sleeve nut S2 thus limiting the downward Vmovement ofthe presser foot, the shoulder 56 also providing an upwardly facing seatfor the lower end of a presser foot compensating spring 58 which issomewhat lighter than the spring 52. The upper end of the presser footcornpensating spring 58 bears against a member or part (not shown) fixedwith respect to the tubular sleeve element 34 whereby the presser foot54 is normally urged downwardly into seating engagement with the upperend of the .sleeve nut 52. The springs 42 and 58 function in asubstantially similar manner to those springs disclosed and described inthe aforementioned Gladfelter patent and, therefore, a further detaileddescription of the same is not repeated herein.

It will be noted by reference to FIGURES 2 and 4-7 inclusive, that thepresser foot 54 is provided with an elongated bore 60 therein, the borebeing a closed bottom bore at its upper end as indicated at 62 and openat its lower end. Additionally, it will be noted that 1the presser foot54 is provided with a cap receiving surface cavity 64 which iscomplementary in shape and size to the top portion of a cap as welll asthe upper portion of the annular depending skirt of the cap Theimportance of the provision of the cap receiving surface cavity 64 onthe presser foot S4 will -be described in detail later in thespecification when the operation of the crowning head is described Arelatively cylindrical-shaped plunger 66 is slidably mounted in theybore 60 of the presser foot 54 The plunger 66 includes a brass sleevemember 68 having a cylindrical bore 70 at its lower end for reception ofa permanent horseshoe magnet 72, the magnet 72 being retained in thesleeve member 68 by a set screw 74 At the upper end of the brass sleevemember 68 there is provided a longitudinally elongated and transverselyextending slot 76. A pin 78 fixedly supported at its ends by the presserfoot 54 extends through the slot 76 and limits the vertical movement ofthe plunger 66 with respect to the presser foot 54. A very light spring80 bearing at one end against the closed bottom 62 of the bore 60 and atthe other .end against the top of the plunger 66 urges the plunger 66 ina downward direction to its normal position as shown in FIGURE 2.

As best shown in FIGURES 2, and 4 to 7, inclusive, a container guideelement 82 is suppo-rted from the lower end of the sleeve element 34. Inmore detail, the container guide element 82 is provided with an apertureor hole 84 therethrough, the hole 84 having its :lower portion 86complementary in shape to the neck portion Iof a container to be closedwhereas the upper portion 88 is cylindrical and of a diameter to receivethe lower end of the crowning throat ring 48. A shoulder 90 is providedbetween the upper portion 88 and the lower p-ortion 86 of the aperture84 through the container gui-de ring, the shoulder 90 having an internaldiameter slightly less than the maximum diameter of the flanged edge ofa cap whereby the shoulder 90 acts as a secondary platform should thecap become inadvertent-ly dislodged from the plunger.

The container guide element 82 is supported beneath the sleeve element34 by means of a pin 92 threaded into the container guide element andextending upwardly through an enlarged bore 94 in the flange 44 of thesleeve element. The upper end of the pin is provided with threads 96which receive a stop nut 98. A number of spacer elements 100 fittingbetween the stop nut 98 and the upper surface of the flange 44 determinethe lowermost position of the container guide element 82 relative to thecrowning throat ring 48. By adding or removing spacer washers 100 theposition of the lcontainer guide element 82 relative to the crowningthroat ring 48 may tbe easily adjusted to a desired distance.

The operation of the improved crowning head 12 of the present inventionwill now follow with a detailed description of the various phases orstages of crowning.

At the outset, the cap C disclosed throughout the drawings is a crowntype of cap having a top portion 102 and a downwardly depending annularskirt 104 (FIGURE 3) which is usually corrugated or fluted. At the lowerend of the skirt 104 the free edge of the same is flared outwardly asindicated at 106. While the cap C may be a conventional type of crownhaving a steel shell with the usual corrugated skirt and a suitable corkor plastic liner, it is preferably a tear off type of crown cap such asdisclosed in the Jerry F. Scharf co-pending United States applicationSer. No. 372,612 led June 4, 1964, now Patent No. 3,l95,755, andassigned to the same assignee as this application. The cap disclosed inthe aforementioned Scharf application is provided with an aluminum outershell defined by the top portion 102 and the depending skirt 104, thetop portion having a pull tab T therein formed by an incision which isat least partially semi-circular and by score lines extending from theincision toward and down a portion of the skirt 104. A steel backingdisc 108 is provided on the interior of the shell S intermediate aplastic liner L or the like. While the shell S is preferably made ofaluminum, it could also be made of a thin guage steel thus notnecessitating the steel reinforcing Idisc S intermediate the shell andliner. Caps of this type do not require the use of an opener to removethe same from a container, it merely ybeing necessary to pull the taband tear the skirt when removing the cap from the container.

Another cap which could be used with the crowning head of the presentinvention which includes the improved presser foot 54 and plunger 66 isdisclosed in the Jerry F. Scharf and Vinson S. Potts pending applicationSer. No. 367,434 led May 14, 1964, now Patent No. 3,246,784. The capdisclosed in the aforementioned Scharf and Potts patent application isalso a tear off type of oap but differs somewhat with lrespect to thedetails of the tab and further in that the skirt is not flared outwardlyat its lower free edge, the cap lbeing known in the trade as a roll oncap. When such a cap is used, suitable roll-on dies are substituted inplace of the crowning throat for ironing lthe skirt -of the cap aboutthe bead on the mouth or the lip of the container.

The cap illustrated in the drawings and described in connection with theoperation of the `crowning head of the present invention is a cap of thetype disclosed in Scharf application Ser. No, 372,612, but it will beappreciated that the invention is not necessarily limited to thisspecific type of cap -as the crowning operation would be substantiallyidentical for a roll on cap or a conventional crown cap.

Referring first to FIGURES 1 and 2, caps C are fed down the cap supplychute 23 to the cap receiving station 22. As the dome-shaped bodyportion 14 of the crowning mechanism 10 rotates one of the crowningheads 12 past the cap receiving station 22, the discharge end of thechute 23 will be positioned closely adjacent an opening 83 provided inthe side of the container guide element 82. A single cap is delivered,usually by a blast of air and the weight of other caps in the chute,through this opening 83 into the area of the throat of the containerguide element 82 above the shoulder 90. As the cap travels into thisthroat area it is immediately picked up by the magnet 72 of the plunger66 and is initially positioned in the crowning head 12 above and inalignment with the mouth M of a container B which has been or will beconveyed onto a platform of a rotating table or turret (not shown).

The crowning head 12 at the time it receives the cap C is in itsuppermost position with respect to the container B and the variouselements of the crowning head such as the crowning throat ring 48,presser foot 54, and plunger 66 `are in their normal downward positionrelative to each other and to the crowning cylinder 24 which carries thesame, their position being best shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. At this timeit is important to note that the plunger 66 has is lowermost edge 110positioned or spaced below the lowermost edge 112 of the presser foot 54by a vertical distance in the order of one-sixteenth (1/16) of an inch.Also, it is important to note that the lowermost edge 114 of thecrowning throat ring 4S is positioned or spaced below the lowermost edgeof the plunger 66, the vertical distance separating these two edges alsobeing in the order of one-sixteenth of an inch. The above-mentionedpositions of the three elements of the crowning head, namely, thecrowning throat 48, the presser foot 54, and the plunger 66 are criticalto the over-all operation of the crowning head in that such positioningfirst ensures initial centering of the `cap C relative to the containerB, then permits the cap C to engage the mouth M of the container priorto the cap being contacted by the presser foot, and then further permitsa final centralizing of the cap by the presser foot as crowning pressureis being applied. Further, it is important to note that the lowersurface of the plunger 66 which engages the top portion 102 of the capis generally planar so that the cap can shift laterally with respect tothe same, if necessary, during engagement of the cap by the presser footand during seating lof the cap in the cap receiving surface cavity 64 ofthe presser foot.

Referring now to FIGURE 4 of the drawing which illustrates the secondstage of the crowning operation, it will be noted that the crowningcylinder 24 has moved vertically downwardly relative to the container B.As mentioned at the outset, this relative movement may be accomplishedby providing the crowning cylinder with the cam follower 28 riding -inthe cam track of cam 20, thus causing the crowning cylinder 24 to movedownwardly with respect to the body portion 14. Also, it will beunderstood that the container C could be elevated with respect to thecrowning cylinder 24 to accomplish the same crowning operation. Betweenthe position shown in FIGURE 2 and the position shown in FIGURE 4, thecontainer B has moved relative the crowning head 12 to a position wherethe neck of the container extends into the aperture 84 through thecontainer guide element 82 with the mouth M of the container beingpositioned above the shoulder 90 in the area deiined by the cylindricalbore 8S. The container guide element 82 has not -as yet moved relativeto the sleeve element 34 as it has not come into actual physical contactwith the container B. In FIGURE 4, the plunger 66 which is supportingthe cap C thereon by the magnet 72 has caused the cap to make initialphysical contact with the mouth M of the container B and iurtherdownward movement of the cylinder 24 will cause the plunger 66 to begincompression of the very light compensating spring 80 as the presser footstarts its movement toward the cap C and relative to the plunger 66.

Referring next to FIGURE 5, the third stage of the crowning operationhas occurred in that the presser foot 54 has moved downwardly with thecrowning ring 48 to a position where the top portion 102 and the upperportion of the downwardly depending skirt 104 are fully encompassed inand physically engaging the cap receiving surface cavity 64 of thepresser foot. If there is any slight inaccuracy in the position of thecap C relative to the mouth M of container B while in the second stageof the crowning operation, this inaccuracy is compensated for by thecavity 64 as it will centralize the cap C when the presser foot 54begins to engage the cap. In other words, the cap C can shift laterallywith respect to the planar engaging surface of the plunger 66 as itbegins seating in the complementary cap receiving cavity 64 of thepresser foot 54. Once the presser foot 54 has made full engagement withthe cap C as shown in FIGURE 5, the cap will be fully centered on themouth M of the container B and continued vdownward movement of thecrowning cylinder 24 causes the compensating spring 58 to compress, thisspring exerting a predetermined sui-cient crowning pressure on thepresser foot 54 which is transferred by the presser foot to the cap Cand container B. It will be noted that in the third stage of thecrowning operation, the container guide element 82 still has not madephysical Contact with the neck of the container B and thus has not movedrelative to the crowning throat ring 48. However, the container guideelement 82 has moved closer to the container B.

The final or fourth stage of the crowning operation is best illustratedin FIGURE 6 and the enlarged fragmentary FIGURE 7. While the presserfoot 54 is maintaining the predetermined vertical crowning pressure onthe cap C and container B, the crowning cylinder 24 has moved stillfurther downwardly so as to move the sleeve element 34 and the crowningthroat 48 carried thereby to a position where the edge 106 of the cap isinitially engaged by the lower leading end 114 of the crowning throatand then ironed inwardly about the bead of the mouth M as the crowningthroat causes the anged edge to contract. At an intermediate positionbetween the position shown in FIGURE and that shown in FIG- URES 6 and7, the container guide element 82 makes physical contact with the neckof the container B and since it cannot move further downwardly, thethroat ring 48 moves relative to the same. As the crowning throat 48causes the skirt of the cap to be ironed about the bead on the mouth Mof the container B, the stretching of the metal in the shell of the capC causes the pull tab T of the cap to spring upwardly out of the planeof the top portion 102 of the cap. At this point, it is well to notethat the external diameter of the plunger 66 is greater than the size ofthe tab T and consequently when the tab T begins to push upwardly, itcan move the plunger 66 upwardly against the light spring pressure ofthe spring 80 and fit into the space formerly 4occupied by the plunger.The magnet 72 which initially held the cap C by its magnetic attractionof the steel disc 108 beneath the shell of the cap, has only enoughmagnetism to lightly support the shell 104 and this magnetism is easilyovercome as well as the spring force of the spring by the tab Tspringing upwardly due to 4the ironing of the skirt 104 about the lip ofthe mouth M of the container B.

It is important to note that during the ironing operation by the throatring 48 on the skirt 104 of the cap C, the t-op portion 102 of the capand at least the upper or curve-d portion of the skirt 104 of the cap iscompletely backed up by physical contact with the surface of the -cavity64 of the presser foot 54, the cavity having a complementary shape andsize to these portions of the cap. By such an arrangement of applyingvertical crowning pressure over this entire area of the cap during theironing operati-on of the skirt about the lip of the mouth of thecontainer, there is no chance for the cap to be damaged or for the scorelines of the tab T or the metal adjacent to the score lines being torn.

The downward movement of the crowning throat ring 4S is limited by theengagement of the end of the pressure foot stop rod 55 with the upperend of the presser foot 54. The length of rod 5S can -be adjusted so asto vary the downward stroke of the throat -ring 48 to accommodatedifferent conditions of crowning which would occur if diiierent types ofcaps or dierent types of containers such as bottles or cans were used.

After the cap C has been lapplied to the container B as illustrated inFIGURES 6 and 7, the cylinder 24 is moved away from the crownedcontainer and when the crowned container is completely clear of thecontainer guide element 82, the container is conveyed off of itscontainer supporting platform and the crowning head is ready to receive.another crown and apply the same to a new container.

It was mentioned earlier in the speciication that the container guideelement 82 was provided with a shoulder which functions as an auxiliarycap platform. It will be appreciated that the internal diameter of theopening or aperture 36 at the point of the shoulder 90 is slightlygreater than the internal diameter of the throat ring 4S and thus whenthe throat ring has ironed the cap skirt about the lip of the mouth ofthe container, the free edge of the skirt will be able to easily passthrough the opening at the area of the shoulder 90 in the containerguide ele-V ment 82.

The shoulder 90 cornes into effect as a cap supporting platform onlywhen a cap is inadvertently dislodged off of the magnet 72 of plunger66. It is still possible to crown the container even if this conditionoccurs as the presser foot 54 has means thereon, namely, the cavity 64,for centralizing the cap.

The crowning head of the present invention described above andillustrated in the drawing fully and eiiiciently accomplishes theobjects and advantages of the present invention. However, it will beperceived by those having skill in the art that certain changes,adjustments, and modiications may be made to the crowning head or to acrowning mechanism incorporating the crowning head of the presentinvention without departing from the principle and spirit of theinvention.

Therefore, the terminology used throughout the specilication is for thepurpose of description and not limitation, the scope of the inventionbeing defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a crowning head for applying to a mouth of a container a crowntype cap having a top portion and an annular skirt depending therefrom,the skirt having an outwardly ared free edge, the improvementcomprising: means for initially receiving and holding a cap; a presserfoot normally positioned above the top portion yof the cap when the capis initially held by said means, said presser foot having a capreceiving surface cavity therein complementary in size and shape to thetop portion and a portion of the depending annular skirt of the cap; anda throat rring having a bore therein with a diameter suicient to receiveat least a portion of the skirt of the cap -but less than the diameterof the outwardly ared edge of the skirt of the cap.

2. The crowning head as claimed in claim 1 in which said presser foothas a bore therein opening to the surface cavity and in which said meansfor initially receivingr and holding a cap includes a plunger slidablein said bore and normally extending below said presser foot whenreceiving the cap, said plunger including a magnet.

3. The .crowning head as claimed in claim 2 in which sai-d plungerincludes a nonmagnetic sleeve shielding said magnet from the presserfoot and said magnet being mounted within said sleeve.

4. The crowning head as claimed in claim 3 in which said nonmagneticsleeve of said plunger is brass.

5. In a crowning head of the type movable relative to a container forpositioning a cap having a skirt on the -mouth thereof and then ironingthe skirt of the cap about the mouth of a container, the improvementcomprising: a presser foot for centralizing and holding the cap on themouth of the container, said presser foot having a cap receiving surfacecavity therein complementary in size and shape to the top portion and aportion of the depending annular skirt of the cap whereby the cap ispositively centered when being moved onto the mouth of the container andwhereby the top portion and a portion of the annular skirt is positivelybacked against the mouth of the container as the skirt is being ironedabout the mouth of the container.

6. In a crowning head movable relative to a mouth of a container forapplying thereto a crown type cap having a top portion and an annularskirt depending therefrom, the skirt having an outwardly flared freeedge and the top portion having a tab formed therein by an incisionwhich is at least partially semicircular and weakened score portionsextending from the ends of the in cision, the improvement comprising: athroat ring having a bore therein, said throat ring being arranged toengage the free edge of the cap when the cap is positioned on the mouthof a container to stretch and iron the skirt of the cap about the mouthof the container; a presser foot slidably mounted within the bore of thethroat ring and movable relative thereto, said presser foot having abore therein greater in diameter than the tab of said cap; and a plungermounted within the bore of and slidable with respect to said presserfoot, said plunger being capable of upward movement relative saidpresser foot when said presser foot is applying capping pressure to thecap and said throat ring is ironing the skirt of the cap about the mouthof the container and causing the tab to move upwardly at an angle out ofthe normal plane ofthe top portion of the cap.

7. The crowning head as claimed in claim 6 including spring meansnormally urging said plunger downward with respect to said presser foot,and means to limit downward movement of said plunger to a position whereits lower end is slightly below the lower end of said presser foot.

8. The crowning head as claimed in claim 7 in which said plunger has anelongated slot therethrough and in which said limit means includes a pinmember carried by said presser foot and extending through the slot insaid plunger.

9. The crowning head as claimed in claim 6 in which said presser foothas a cap receiving surface cavity therein complementary in size andshape to the top portion and a portion of the depending annular skirt ofthe cap.

10. The crowning head as claimed in claim 6 in which said plungerincludes a cylindrical nonmagnetic sleeve having a closed bottom boreopening at its lower end and a permanent magnet carried in the bore forinitially receiving and holding said cap as the cap is being positionedon the mouth of the container.

11. The crowning head as claimed in' claim 10 in which said presser footis provided with a cap receiving surface cavity therein complementary insize and shape to the top portion and a portion of the depending annularskirt of the cap.

12. In a crowning head movable relative to a mouth of a container forapplying thereto a crown type cap having a top portion and an annularskirt depending therefrom, the improvement comprising: a presser footfor centralizing the cap on the mouth of the container and applyingcapping pressure to the cap, said presser foot having a bore thereinclosed at one end; a plunger mounted in the bore of and slidable withrespect to the presser foot; means to limit sliding movement of saidplunger relative said presser foot; spring means normally urging saidplunger to a position where its lower end eX- tends below the lower endof said presser foot; means on said plunger for receiving and supportingthe cap as the cap is being applied to the mouth of the container; andmeans for ironing the skirt of the cap about the mouth of the containerwhen the cap is being held on the mouth of the container by said presserfoot.

13. The crowning head as claimed in claim 12 in which said plunger hasits lower end normally extending below the lower end of said presserfoot in the order of 1/16 of an inch.

14. The crowning head as claimed in claim 13 in which said presser footis provided with cap receiving surface cavity therein complementary insize and shape to the top portion of and a portion of the dependingannular skirt -of the cap whereby the presser foot assists incentralizin-g the cap after the cap initially contacts the mouth of thebottle and then backs up the top portion of and the portion of the skirtof the cap as said skirt is being ironed about the mouth of thecontainer.

15. In a crowning head movable relative to a mouth of a container forapplying thereto a crown type cap having a top portion and an annularskirt depending therefrom, the skirt having an outwardly ared free edgeand the top portion having a tab formed therein by an incision which isat least partially semi-circular and by weakened score portionsextending from the ends of the incision, the improvement comprising: athroat ring having a bore therein, said throat ring having its lower endarranged to en-gage the free edge of the cap when the cap is positionedon the mouth of a container for stretching and ironing the skirt of thecap about the mouth of the container; a presser foot slidably mountedwithin the bore of the throat ring and generally having its lower endspaced upwardly from the lower end of said throat ring, said presserfoot having a cap engaging surface and a bore closed at one end and opento said cap engaging surface; and a plunger mounted within the bore ofand slidable with respect to said presser foot, said plunger having agenerally planar cap engaging surface and being of a diameter greaterthan the tab of said cap, said plunger having its lower end normallypositioned intermediate the lower end of said throat ring and the lowerend of said presser foot, said plunger including a magnet for initiallyreceiving and retaining the cap thereon until the cap engages the mouthof the container and the presser foot applies capping pressure to thecap.

16. The crowning head as claimed in claim 15 including a rst springmeans to urge said plunger to its normal position with respect to saidpresser foot and said throat ring and a second spring means to urge saidpresser foot to its normal position with respect to said throat ring.

17. The crowning head as claimed in claim 15 in which the lower end ofsaid presser foot is spaced onesixteenth (1/10) of an inch from thelower end of said plunger and in which the lower end of said plunger isll spaced one-sixteenth (1/16) of an inch from the lower end of saidthroat ring.

18. The crowningv head as claimed in claim 15 in which the cap engagingsurface on the end of said presser foot is a cavity complementary insize and shape to the top portion and the upper portion of the skirt ofsaid cap.

19. The combination as claimed in 'claim 15 in which said plungerfurther includes a brass sleeve surrounding said magnet and shieldingthe same from said presser 10 foot and throat rino.

20. The crowning head as claimed in claim 15 including a container guideelement having an aperture therethrough with a portion thereofcomplementary in shape to the neck of the container and a second portioncylindrical and of a diameter sucient to receive the lower end of saidthroat ring, means operatively supporting said guide element from saidthroat ring for movement relative to said throat ring.

No references cited.

RICHARD H. EANES, JR., Primary Examiner.

1. IN A CROWNING HEAD FOR APPLYING TO A MOUTH OF A CONTAINER A CROWNTYPE CAP HAVING A TOP PORTION AND AN ANNULAR SKIRT DEPENDING THEREFROM,THE SKIRT HAVING AN OUTWARDLY FLARED FREE EDGE, THE IMPROVEMENTCOMPRISING: MEANS FOR INITIALLY RECEIVING AND HOLDING A CAP; A PRESSERFOOT NORMALLY POSITIONED ABOVE THE TOP PORTION OF THE CAP WHEN THE CAPIS INITIALLY HELD BY SAID MEANS, SAID PRESSER FOOT HAVING A CAPRECEIVING SURFACE CAVITY THEREIN COMPLEMENTARY IN SIZE AND SHAPE TO THETOP PORTION AND A PORTION OF THE DEPENDING ANNULAR SKIRT OF THE CAP; ANDA THROAT